100 Philosophers 100 Artworks 100 Words #34

100 Words: Most people don’t realize that comedy is the hardest thing to do well in music, and that Weird Al is America’s greatest living musician. His best album was released whenever you were 13, which is exactly the age at which I purchased Dare to Be Stupid. The parodies demonstrate that Weird Al has more talent than, e.g., Madonna or Huey Lewis, plus he’s funny. The originals are awesome, particularly the title track, which out-Devo’s Devo. “Yoda” sums up everything great about Empire, back before Yoda became a CGI monstrosity. And the polka medley even incorporates “Relax.” Beat that, Arcade Fire!